I LOVE YOU KITTEN #6
It fit perfectly.
As though it had always belonged there.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
They simply looked at one another.
Then...
Very gently...
Rivan brushed away a tear from her cheek with his thumb.
His forehead rested against hers.
His voice dropped to barely above a whisper.
"I've wanted to say this for so long."
Devyani froze.
Something in his tone made her heart race.
She searched his eyes, waiting.
Hoping.
Praying.
A thousand nights she had wondered what it would sound like.
Whether he felt it.
Whether he would ever say it first.
Slowly, almost reverently, Rivan took a single step back.
Devyani smiled through her tears, believing he was simply trying to steady himself after slipping the ring onto her finger.
Instead...
He bent down.
Her smile faltered.
"Me Thakur...?"
Before she could understand what he was doing, he lowered himself onto both knees once again.
But this time...
it wasn't to propose.
It was for something entirely different.
His hands moved gently toward her.
Instead of reaching for her waist...
or her hands...
he reached for her feet.
With infinite care, as though touching something sacred, he cradled one of her feet in both of his hands.
Devyani's eyes widened.
Her breath caught.
"What... what are you doing?" she gasped, instinctively trying to pull back.
He held her gently not tightly, never forcing, only enough to reassure her.
He looked up at her with eyes shimmering with tears.
A soft smile touched his lips.
"Worshipping my love."
The words were barely louder than a whisper.
Yet they echoed louder than anything else in the room.
Another tear escaped his eyes.
It slid slowly down his cheek before falling onto the back of her foot.
His thumb brushed over her skin with such tenderness that it made her heart ache.
"In every story," he said quietly, "people talk about worshipping gods they cannot see."
His gaze never left hers.
"But I..."
He swallowed, emotion tightening his voice.
"...I was blessed enough to meet the miracle I could."
Very slowly...
he lifted her foot closer.
With closed eyes...
he pressed the gentlest kiss upon it.
Not out of submission.
Not out of obligation.
But with profound gratitude.
A silent promise.
A reverence born entirely of love.
Devyani stood frozen.
"No..." she whispered brokenly. "Please... don't..."
Fresh tears streamed down her face.
"You don't have to do this."
Rivan looked up at her, smiling through his own tears.
"I want to."
His voice was calm.
Steady.
"They say a person's feet carry the weight of every road they've walked."
His fingers lightly traced across hers.
"These feet walked into my life."
"They walked beside me when I lost myself."
"They stopped me from becoming someone I never wanted to be."
"They carried you through every joy, every heartbreak... until they brought you here."
He bowed his head for a moment.
"So today..."
He shook his head.
"I kiss them because every path they took led you to me."
His voice finally broke.
"And I'll spend the rest of my life making sure they never have to walk alone again."
Silence.
Only the sound of quiet sobs filled the flower-covered hall.
Then...
He slowly rose to his feet.
His trembling hand cupped her tear-stained face.
For a long moment, he simply looked at her.
As if every word he had ever left unsaid was finally finding its way into his eyes.
His forehead rested gently against hers.
A smile, soft and utterly unguarded, curved across his lips.
"You know what the strange thing is, kitten?"
She shook her head, unable to speak.
"I spent so much time searching for the perfect way to tell you these three words..."
He let out a quiet laugh through his tears.
"But standing here..."
"I've realized they'll never be enough."
His thumb wiped away another tear from her cheek.
"Because no language has ever invented words big enough for what you are to me."
He took a slow breath.
"But they're the closest my heart can come."
His eyes held hers.
Unwavering.
Overflowing with love.
"I LOVE YOU KITTEN"
The world seemed to stop.
The fairy lights blurred into streaks of gold.
The flowers disappeared behind the tears filling her eyes.
There were only those four words.
The words she had carried in her heart for so long without ever hearing.
A sob escaped her lips.
She threw herself into his arms, holding him as tightly as she could.
"I've waited..." she whispered through tears, "...so long to hear you say that."
He held her just as tightly, burying his face in her hair.
"And you'll never have to wait to hear it again."
"I love you."
He kissed her forehead.
"I love you."
He kissed the corner of her eye, catching another tear.
"I love you."
Then he smiled against her skin.
"As many times as it takes for you to never doubt it again."
To be continue
User name: authormaya (on rowllr)
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